Dementia Costs World $600 Billion Per Year: WHO

4/11/2012 3:23 PM ET

The incidence rate of dementia, the global costs of which are estimated at $600 billion per year, will triple by 2050, according to report by the World Health Organization and Alzheimer's Disease International.

The report was released in part to raise awareness of the disease and ensure opportune diagnosis.

The figure of $600 billion was reached, adds the report, by calculating the costs of "providing health and social care as well the reduction or loss of income of people with dementia and their caregivers."

Early diagnosis is the top priority, say officials. "We need to increase our capacity to detect dementia early and to provide the necessary health and social care. Much can be done to decrease the burden of dementia," says Dr Oleg Chestnov, Assistant Director-General, Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO. "Health-care workers are often not adequately trained to recognize dementia."